busy, busier, busiest!

Things have been super busy for us and show no signs of slowing down anytime soon! But that's cool with me...when winter rears it's ugly head, that's when I'll slow things down and stay nice and cozy at home or close to it. :) Summer is the season for fun in our house!

The week kicked off with another cooking class for Logan. PBJ roll-ups, anyone? I created my own super special recipe for the kids loosely based on this.

recipe: PBH roll-ups
source: my friend R

1 slice whole wheat bread
1 tbsp. favorite peanut butter
honey

Roll the slice of bread out flat with a rolling pin. Spread on peanut butter and then drizzle the top with honey. Roll up and serve.

My boys both LOVED this. And then I found out that Meyer isn't supposed to have honey before age 2 because of a botulism risk. Funny- I thought he could have it after 1? He didn't start foaming at the mouth though, so that is a good thing. ;)

We were invited to celebrate a special little girl's birthday party at Coldstone Creamery also. What a great idea and what fun for the kids! They got tours of the freezers and how the ice cream was made, and then they got to make their own ice cream treat with a mix-in. Of course, Logan's mix-in was marshmallows...and I was surprised that most the other kids chose marshmallows also!

It has been hot. Super duper hot. I've been keeping up with my runs for the most part in order to get used to hot weather running, but I am super careful running in the heat. And doing speedwork in hot weather is no fun! I'm supposed to run 5 bouts of 400 meters (just under 1/4 mile) with recovery time in between. Let's just say that for my first speedwork exercise, I cheated. :) My next speedwork exercise is a tempo run...I like these much better!

The week of the fourth of July just isn't complete without a trip to city for the Taste of Chicago!!!! I promised myself I'd squeeze it in somehow and I was able to today. I thought I'd make a full day of it, so I got ready to go bright and early to try to catch the 7:50a train to the city. My plan was to take my jogging stroller and I was kind of worried how I was going to get the stroller and both kids up on the train. Turns out the handicapped car is equipped to store my honker of a stroller so I had nothing to worry about! Except the delays. 3 delays totaling 20+ minutes are no fun, especially with 2 little kidlets to keep occupied. But they did great and we were at the station and up on the street in record time. I'm really starting to navigate the city well from a stroller perspective. :)

Goal #1: a run by the lake. I walked up Jackson St. but it was closed off before Columbus so I had to turn around and go to Monroe for lakefront access. I took off running north just a bit, then turned around, circled the Shedd Aquarium, headed back to Balbo and ended up right in front of the Field Museum. Just short of 3 miles. In 26:22. Holy Quickness!

Goal #2: pool time with friends. After a little break in the shade, we walked to my friend B's where we were going to be indulging in some pool time. Her pool looks out onto LSD and has a great view of the lake, Museum Campus and Soldier Field. My boys and her girl had such fun splashing around together. Meyer has no fear of the water and Logan actually put his face in the water!! I have a feeling this is the start of many fun pool adventures to come for my little fishies. Thanks to B for making it possible!

Goal #3: lunch at the Taste. Both boys fell fast asleep on the long walk back to the Taste. Which was good for me because that meant I could browse and eat in peace! Or so I thought. The Taste was a madhouse...and the crowds were insane. I had lots of difficulty navigating said honker of a stroller through them and didn't get to enjoy the fest as much as I wanted to. I'm also sad to say I didn't eat anything particularly exciting other than a cold cube of goat accompanied by cold jollof rice from VeeVee's. Quite a disappointment! But the White Berry Cooler from Caribou Coffee on the way back to Union made it all better. Note to self: bring Matt next time!!

My city trip solo was a success. The train ride home was also delayed but both boys were on their best behavior. I'm such a lucky mama!